C+Q - Destiny of the Daleks (1979)
My first Classic Who review! Well, outside of the TV Movie.
Part One
Season 17 starts with Romana regenerating. We only had her
for six stories but I'm sad to see Mary Tamm go. She really was
the first female Doctor, and not just because she was a Time
Lord from the planet Gallifrey capable of piloting the TARDIS.
From scene to scene she could puncture a serious moment with a
raised eyebrow or sell the hell out of a dangerous situation,
always in perfect control of the stakes. She was funny and
clever but also slightly eccentric. As much as she seemed normal
in contrast to Tom Baker's more obvious weirdness, she too had a
larger-than-life alien personality. And now she's suddenly gone.
Luckily, Lalla Ward is a damn good replacement, even if this
story doesn't showcase her very well.
The regeneration
sequence at the start of Part One is a lot of fun. We've seen
aspects of this vision of regeneration reappear - the Twelfth
Doctor on a subconscious level was able to take on someone
else's face - but ultimately it's just a great little addition
to the mythology that gives the Time Lords' magical power more
mystery. Like the Watcher, I'd love to see this explored more in
the future. This is Douglas Adams' first story as script editor
and his style really comes through in the opening. The dialogue
just feels tighter and snappier and funnier, particularly in
this first episode. "Oh look! Rocks!" Despite this being a Dalek
story written by Terry Nation set on a rocky planet with high
radiation levels, the twist that it's Skaro still somehow got
me. Also, the Movellans look cool, with their white and silver
outfits and pointy pink gun things.
The cliffhanger of
Part One is kinda weak, and not just because the Daleks are in
the title. I love a good 'end of part one' title monster reveal.
Unfortunately, this is not a good 'end of part one' title
monster reveal. The constant repetition of the Daleks' lines
feel like something out of a parody except there's no actual
joke, and the whole thing is diminished by one of the Daleks
still being covered by the wall it just burst through. Oh well -
a fine first episode. I'm into it.
Part Two
Ah, we love a good Dalek bouncing off a doorframe don't we?
Romana's panicked response to the Daleks is interesting. It's
clearly an attempt to sell the Daleks as a threat the likes of
which Romana has never faced before. These are, after all, the
biggest villains in the show returning for the first time since
Season 12. Thing is, Romana has just regenerated, and as with
any regeneration I'm watching closely to figure out what this
new incarnation is like. So is this normal for Romana II? Will
she be more easily spooked than her predecessor? I just don't
think Mary Tamm's version would be so worried. It's a strange
little bit - making the Daleks seem scary by giving Romana an
intense reaction but we've never seen this Romana react to
anything before. Anyway, all is forgiven because she has a good
plan to escape the mine, culminating in a great fake-out with
Romana's gravestone that lasts exactly as long as it needs to
considering we all know she's not really dead. The mine location
incidentally is really cool and expansive.
The mystery of
what the Daleks are drilling for is a great driving question for
the episode, connecting the Doctor and Romana's two halves of
the plot. It's made a lot more suspenseful by the fact the
Doctor's already worked it out and the reference to the old
Kaled base from Genesis means the viewer can work it out too.
That said, the reveal that it's Davros could've been done
better. There's no slow pan or abrupt close-up cut. He's just
sitting there covered in cobwebs and our heroes walk in like
'yep, there's Davros!' I suppose Genesis was so long ago that
the sight of Davros alone wouldn't have worked for every
audience member as a big twist. We needed that wee bit of
exposition. Then, once we all get on the same page as to who
this guy is, Davros waking up is the real cliffhanger, with his
hand moving and his eye flicking on. It does what I want a
cliffhanger to do, creating a new exciting premise for the next
part.
Part Three
These Daleks are wonderfully 60s. "Seek and loc-ate! Seek and
loc-ate! Do not de-vi-ate!" It's a shame all the on-set noise
from their movement makes them seem so cheap. These deadly
killing machines just sound a bit too much like plastic. Davros
visibly rocking back and forth to make the chair go is
simultaneously marvellous and a hoot.
Davros spends a lot
of this episode being treated like a prop. He gets wheeled
around from scene to scene to keep him away from the Daleks,
which wouldn't be that big of a problem if he had any lines.
It's like they actually forget for some sequences that Davros is
a character rather than a thing. He could just as easily be a
computer or a hard drive filled with evil plans or something.
The highlights of the story are when the Doctor and Davros are
alone together talking, exchanging banter and philosophical
musings like with all the best Doctor/Davros stories. The Daleks
trying to get the Doctor out by exterminating people one by one
is great, as is Davros recognising that the Doctor would
absolutely blow himself up to win, something the Daleks see as
illogical. It's a moment that tells us about the Doctor's
character but also about Davros - he's smarter than his
creations and his insights are useful to them, which we need to
see for the whole plot to work.
Romana's side of the
episode is just frustrating though. We're not really getting
much of a showcase of this new incarnation. Instead she's
hanging out with the Movellans before being knocked unconscious.
I'm sure there's some structural plot reason why Tyssan had to
exist but I can't really put my finger on what it is. It's a
shame, especially after The Key to Time season which was packed
with memorable supporting characters.
The cliffhanger is
quite good. The demonstration of the nova device, the scene of
the Movellans moving Romana, then the dramatic zoom on the
Doctor seeing Romana in the tube is all good stuff. By this
point, the end of episode 3 of 4, things feel very well paced.
The build-up to the Daleks in Part One, the build-up to Davros
in Part Two, and now the Davros stuff here have all held my
interest. It's not amazing - it's a basic Dalek story. Extremely
Terry Nation vibes. Thing is, it's been so long since we've had
a basic Dalek story that there's enough novelty to carry it. The
biggest flaw so far has been the cheapness, with Daleks bumping
into things and the operators inside visibly adjusting their
casing before setting off. Also, the Douglas Adams wit
introduced to the dialogue in the first part seems to have worn
off. The dialogue is never really bad, it just doesn't have the
sparkle it had at the start.
Part Four
Damn, the Doctor helplessly leaning against the tube as the
timer beeps down almost made for a convincing exit for Romana if
it hadn't been the cliffhanger resolution instead of the
cliffhanger.
The idea of two logic-based species at war
but no shots being fired because their battle computers are both
trying to calculate the best time to strike is fantastic.
Fantastic enough to overlook that the Daleks aren't really a
logic-based species. Cybermen are the ones who do logic, Daleks
do irrational hatred. Oh well, it works for this story. The
final scenes of the Doctor and Davros together are cool. As much
as this story is extremely generic Dalek stuff, at least they
recognise that good Doctor Who happens when the Doctor talks to
Davros. David Gooderson is a fine Davros although the script
doesn't give him as many chances to show off in the role as say
Julian Bleach gets.
The resolution is okay, about as
impactful as the events preceding it. After all that discussion,
there wasn't really anything to do with logic or breaking a
stalemate involved, just pushing a button and blowing stuff up.
The big snowflake sign on the cryogenic freezing unit is very
funny though.
Overall
Destiny of the Daleks is fine. Extremely traditional Terry
Nation Dalek stuff, just enough to fill four parts and not a
single episode more. Davros still feels like a new exciting
addition to the show, this only being his second appearance, so
there is something new and fresh here. Now that Davros has been
brought out of the Daleks' origin story and into the relative
present, I wonder if we'll ever see that guy again...
It's a shame the first story for the Second Romana doesn't give
her a lot to do. She rips a Movellan's arm off in the finale I
guess, but she doesn't accomplish much outside of that. Still,
there's nothing here that can be called outright bad, other than
the cheapness of the Daleks. The paint visibly peeling off of
Davros' chair at least makes some sense - he must have been
stuck down there for centuries. The Daleks bumping into the
walls, the doors, each other, jolting when they stop and start,
making really plasticy noises, and adjusting segments of their
casings as they move though? It just makes the whole thing feel
cheap, which is such a shame. All the other sets and props and
costumes look fine, from the dingy Dalek bunker to the gleaming
futuristic Movellan ship. It's only the Daleks that look a wee
bit crap, which is unfortunate because this story isn't called
Destiny of the Movellan Ship. Still, I could see myself
rewatching this when I want some basic adventure serial Dalek
vibes. And that's Terry Nation's last one. End of an era.
Next: ???